North America Fertilizers Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

North America Fertilizers Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

North America's fertilizer market is projected to witness a CAGR 6.0% during the forecast period (2022-2027). The COVID-19 had a direct and negative impact on the value chain of the fertilizer market in North America. The lockdown in different countries affected the export-import and the distribution system adversely. The restricted movement all over the region created a shortage of supply of raw materials required to produce fertilizer over a shorter term. This led to the use of the emergency stock of raw materials by manufacturers for continuing production.

Decreasing agricultural land area, Investments in R&D, Increasing awareness among the farmers regarding the need for nutrients and the crop yield are the major drivers that will boost the demand for fertilizers in the country. However, rising environmental issues and increasing demand for organic farming are likely to refrain the market growth.

The demand for nitrogen fertilizers is the highest among the inorganic fertilizers. The demand for potassic and phosphatic fertilizers is increasing at a steady pace, owing to the shift of farmers toward maize cultivation rather than soybean. The environmental impacts of chemical fertilizers have led to the orientation of the industry toward new innovative and sustainable products. In April 2018, Nutrien launched a digital ag platform to help farmers better manage the timing of planting, fertilizer application, and harvesting using weather and soil data.

Countries, like the United States and Canada, are the largest producers in the region. Technical and scientific advances have made the application of fertilizers more efficient in recent years and have helped farmers maximize fertilizers’ benefits while reducing risks. For instance, slow-release fertilizers and controlled-release fertilizers are widely used on turf and in nurseries but also in broad acre crops, like maize, it is widely used in North America.

The application of nitrogen fertilizer is proportional to the cereal yields. The production of cereal crops is increasing in North America. According to the US Department of Agriculture, the United States has expanded the farmlands to plant 94 million acres of corn and 85 million acres of soybeans, which will be resulting in greater consumption of nitrogenous fertilizers in 2021, supporting the domestic crop production in the country.

According to the International Fertilizer Association (IFA), the global demand for urea is expected to increase by 1.6% per annum, to reach 188 million metric ton by 2022, while the supply (effective capacity) may reach 197 million metric ton. North America is one of the world’s largest exporters of nitrogen fertilizers and has developed into one of the most promising nitrogen investment destinations.

According to the ITC trade, the export quantity of urea increased during 2017-2020 in the region. The United States is the major exporter of nitrogen-based fertilizers in the region. The total exported volume of urea in 2018 was 768,710 metric ton which increased to 827,402 metric ton in 2020.

The United States accounts for the largest share in the North America fertilizer market. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the agricultural land in the United States has remained constant at 405.8 million hectares throughout the period 2017 to 2019. Urbanization and Industrialization are the major reason restricting the expansion of the agricultural land area in the United States.

Moreover, the United States being the biggest and the most advanced economy, most of the multinational fertilizers companies are situated in the country, giving it leverage over the other countries in the region in terms of product availability for the farmers and the growers.

The United States is the world’s fourth-largest producer of nitrogen fertilizers (The Fertilizer Institute, 2019). Most ammonia in the United States is produced by international companies and used for domestic consumption. Consumption of nitrogenous fertilizer accounts for more than half of the total domestic fertilizer consumption in the country.

The farm input manufacturers are developing new products to assist the farmers in the precise application of fertilizers. This helps the farmers in reducing the cost of cultivation. The increase in farmer awareness and development of farm equipment technologies coupled with the large agricultural land area is boosting the use of fertilizer in the country.

The North American Fertilizers market is consolidated, as the players hold a major market share . In terms of market share dominance 2021, CF Industries Holdings Inc. and Nutrien Ltd lead the market. The other prominent player in the market is the Mosaic Company, Yara North America, ICl Fertilizers, among others. Mergers & Acquisitions, partnerships, expansion, R&D, and product launch are the major strategies adopted by the major players in the country.

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